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finished on top with 776 points at Les Brown Pool in Harare yesterday.
The competition began on Saturday and it featured young swimmers between the ages of eight and 11 with participants taking part in the 33-yard butterfly, 66-yard breaststroke, 66-yard freestyle, 132-yard individual medley, 33-yard backstroke and relay events in the various age groups.
And Harare Otters topped the tables in both the boys and girls section after accumulating 448 points and 328 points respectively.
The combined points saw the club clinching the title for the third successive year.
Harare Otters dominated most of the events with their swimmers proving to be too good for their opponents and the pair of Bruce Chiang and Nomvula Mjimba were outstanding winning most of the medals.
Chiang won four gold medals and one bronze in the individual events and Mjimba fished out four golds and one silver medal in the individual events. The two promisingh swimmers went on to win more medals in the relay events.
Chiang attributed his success to hard work and said he is looking forward to upcoming events including the National Championships set for Bulawayo in March and a tour of Zambia set for April.
“I am happy, I feel joyful and just feel like I am on top of the world. I just trained so much so that I can win. I am aiming for better results and I am going for a tour of Zambia in April. My best achievement so far is winning a gold medal in the 100m butterfly last year in South Africa at the Level One Under-11 age-group,” said Chiang.
Mjimba was also excited after the final events yesterday and said she is going to continue working hard to improve on some areas she felt she did not execute well during the weekend’s meet.
“I feel like I am on top of the world. I will try to improve on my strokes and speed. I am going to prepare for the Bulawayo nationals, that’s all I have,” said Mjimba.
One of the Otters coaches, Beverly Cockcroft, hailed her team for putting up a splendid performance.
“I am very proud of them, they worked for the win. They do the best they can for their coaches and the club . . . They always give their best.
“I am happy for winning the title for the third time in a row. It’s good for us in our 90th year as a club and it’s a good achievement for a club that has been running for that long. At Otters we are family oriented, we support one another,” said Cockcroft.
Spartans were second with 636 points followed by Sharks who had 419 points. Pirates Zimbabwe and Dorado were fourth and fifth with 297 and 76 points respectively.
Highlands finished sixth with 67 points and Marlins accumulated 24 points to settle for seventh position.
Mashonaland Swimming Board member, Tracey Doorman, said they were satisfied with the turnout and the competitiveness of the meet as they prepare for the National Championships.
“I think overall it was a successful event. It’s good to see our juniors in action. We are preparing for the nationals in Bulawayo.This was a platform from which we will select the team. It’s good to see new swimmers coming in and to see what you have got,” said Doorman.
Online Reporter